Although Mort was seriously injured right now, the recent encounter with the town sheriff of Flashgold Town had been beyond his expectations. The man had possessed a rare luminestone weapon, making it difficult for Mort's wounds to heal at the moment. But killing these ordinary people in front of him was just a matter of counting seconds.
In the eyes of the Night Watchmen, they only saw the figure in the black robe clutching his abdomen with one hand, while the other started to wrap in black flames. Then his figure flashed, and he rapidly advanced toward them.
Suddenly, a dense shower of arrows was directed at the Black Flame Mage Mort.
Mort's figure quickly darted left and right, continuing to rush forward. Despite the pain of his injuries, he easily dodged the arrows, and not one of the more than ten Night Watchmen's arrows hit him!
The Black Flame Mage, Mort, was now within an arm's reach!
Though Mort's stature wasn't towering, in the minds of the Night Watchmen, his presence was like the ominous clouds that cover the sky before a torrential downpour, bearing down on them.
Many of them wore expressions of terror, and for a moment, they were so petrified that they even forgot to draw their longswords!
This slight reaction caused Mort's eyes to move slightly, revealing a hint of disdain. Indeed, ordinary people were just that—ordinary.
From the moment Mort appeared to when he dodged the arrows and charged at them, Rein's eyes were intently fixed on him, his spirit highly focused, never once shifting his gaze.
Rein muttered to himself.
If that's the case, then it's not impossible to fight!
About one minute of 'Strength Burst,' and I only used a mere three seconds just now.
Although the opponent was injured and his speed greatly affected, his combat awareness was still top-notch, as could be seen from the way he dodged the arrows.
I must catch him off guard, and if I can severely injure him with one strike, then with his injuries compounded, the overall situation will be decided!
Mort's pupils reflected the evening scenery around him, as well as the figures of the Night Watchmen in front of him, their faces showing astonishment, fear, disbelief, and more!
There was one exception!
A young man wearing plate armor.
Soon, Mort dismissed it as the man being stunned with fear or too slow to react.
Mort remembered him because this young man was one of the only two wearing plate armor who had come with the sheriff of Flashgold Town—he must be a trusted subordinate of the sheriff.
So be it, I'll send you back to the embrace of the goddess first!
You can blame your superior for this, Mort thought to himself.
Thus, Mort's black figure suddenly adjusted direction, swiftly closed in on Rein, and the black flames in his hand already began to flourish, releasing menacing black fire!
But the next moment, Mort instinctively sensed something was wrong; as the distance closed, he could see through the gaps in the opponent's plate armor visor, into his eyes.
The opponent's eyes had an unusual black pupil, but there was not a trace of fear or panic in his gaze, instead, it was eerily calm!
As still as a dead pond, without a ripple.
However, by this time, Mort's right hand was already raised, the black flames in his hand began to expand, and his whole body was rushing forward. He was somewhat surprised, but not enough to change his mind or abandon the attack.
But suddenly, Mort's pupils shrank as if he saw something dreadful!
Rein's body suddenly swelled and grew larger, his figure shifting from slightly short to a nearly two-meter tall burly man, the once slightly oversized knight's plate armor now looked extremely 'petite' on him.
Most prominent was Rein's bulging neck, as if his chest housed a steam train's locomotive, and his neck was the whistle, about to spew forth a massive current of heat!
Mort's color changed instantly, wanting to retreat with a flying leap!
But the injury in his abdomen and the inertia of his body made this unlikely.
Moreover, such a wide-ranging sound wave attack was most unavoidable, unless... your speed exceeded the speed of sound!
But clearly, even if Mort were unharmed, he was still far from reaching the speed of sound.
So, unable to dodge, he could only take it head-on!
In an instant! A loud bang exploded next to Mort's ears, his entire face stretching and violently trembling under the impact of the sound wave, his eardrums burst, and his head buzzed.
But what truly horrified him was the shining blade coming straight at him.
Quicker! Even quicker!
Mort, being a Black Flame Mage with the physical quality of a formal knight, was still able to react in time, even though he was grievously injured and hit with Rein's level 2 'roaring strike.'
But Mort felt a sudden lightness in his body as if missing a part, and then, by a hair's breadth, he dodged the bright glow!
An arm still entwined with black flames fell to the ground.
It was Mort's right arm, the very one he had raised and was about to attack with!
Yet what terrified Mort even more was the intense, burning pain that emanated from where his arm had been severed.
It was a pain he had just felt in his abdomen.
"Glimmering weaponry!!"
"How the fuck do you have glimmering weaponry too?!"
"Could it be that he's the Sheriff's catamite?"
"Otherwise, how could he possibly have glimmering weaponry?"
"But can a Knight's catamite really be this strong? That doesn't make sense!!"
Mort just couldn't figure out why his opponent also had an extremely rare piece of glimmering weaponry—it seemed like it was specifically prepared for him.
Could it all have been a premeditated trap aimed at him??
Across from him, Rein didn't pursue but swiftly dismounted because, in his recent roaring strike, the horse had been paralyzed on the ground from the massive sonic attack.
At this moment, Mort came to his senses. All the aforementioned reasons were no longer important.
There was only one thought in his mind.
And that was to flee at once!
What mission, what 'materials,' what control over the Black Flame—none of it was as important as his own life!
In an instant, Rein moved!
Although he had heavily wounded his opponent with a single move, the Black Flame Mage's abilities constantly filled him with apprehension. Thus, he had been observing the Black Flame Mage's face. When he saw obvious fear and a shifty gaze, Rein knew the foe had lost his fighting spirit.
The opportunity naturally arose!
Being injured in the abdomen would inevitably affect the lower limbs' movement, and the loss of a right arm would impact the whole body's coordination and balance even more.
This let Rein quickly catch up to the panicked, fleeing Black Flame Mage Mort.
Just as Mort struggled to gather his strength, planning to hit Rein with a Black Flame fireball—
An arm wreathed in black flames flew through the air again, and Mort stumbled violently, crashing to the ground.
Then a long, narrow wound appeared on his back, starting from his right shoulder blade, diagonally down to his left waist, the gash trailing a sizzling noise as it burned.
Rein didn't stop; his Glimmering Greatsword in hand grew brighter, gradually emitting a faint white light.
Mort struggled to his feet again, intending to continue running, but the next second, a flash of light passed by.
His head tumbled down from his body, and blinding fresh blood, like a fountain, gushed out from the body that was still twitching!
A human fountain on display!
Only then did Rein slightly shake his greatsword, looking at the head that had stopped rolling, observing the face filled with disbelief and terror, and the bulging eyes as he softly said,
"Sorry, I couldn't hold back, because your Black Flame was too dangerous..."
Clearly, Mort heard those words!
Because Rein saw Mort's cracked lips faintly quiver a few times, but with only a head left, he couldn't make any sound.
What a pity, Rein thought, unaware of what Mort wanted to say, but it was likely some sort of curse. Better left unheard.
But actually, the only thing Mort wanted to say at that moment was, "Fuck, you can't hold back? I've had both my arms chopped off by you, think about it! How can I still attack you with the Black Flame?"
"Don't you know how important it is to capture me alive? What a fool!"
Mort's grievances vanished along with his fading consciousness, ultimately amounting to nothing.
Meanwhile, each Night Watchman nearby was covering his ears, and a few of those closest to Rein had blood seeping from their ears.
There was nothing Rein could do about this; the roaring strike was an area attack, and the sound waves couldn't actively distinguish between friend and foe, sparing allies and only targeting enemies. Therefore, accidental injuries were inevitable.
But not a single Night Watchman, including Matteo, held any blame towards Rein. At this moment, they had never felt such a sense of security!
That's right. The Night Watchmen in charge of protecting the townspeople at night felt a profound sense of security in their hearts.
This was a sense of security brought about by the incredible strength of their companion!
Just now, they all thought they might have to sacrifice themselves for the Empire.
But unexpectedly, even after having raised their expectations for Rein's strength through the two recent battles, they didn't anticipate his abilities to be far beyond what they had imagined!
Because Rein had once again shown astounding strength, achieving a miraculous turnaround!
As the Night Watchmen stared dumbfounded at the scene unfolding before them, a familiar figure quickly approached on the nearby road.
It was their superior—Hamilton, the Sheriff of Flashgold Town.
His Knight's armor was dented and battered, wielding a steel shield that was now only half its original size. The arm holding the shield was bloodied, and the only intact weapon on him was the Knight's longsword in his right hand. He looked to have suffered a terrible beating at the hands of the cloaked people.
This made everyone shift their gaze from Hamilton back to Mort's decapitated cloaked body and Rein standing unscathed beside him.
Filled their hearts with numerous questions!
And Hamilton, upon seeing this scene, felt no less shock than his Night Watchman subordinates.
He slowed his pace, approached the scene, and was so astonished for a while that he couldn't speak, just moving his gaze back and forth between Rein and the headless cloaked corpse on the ground.